Annual International Service Project/Fundraising

Why is this project important to CFUW? 

CFUW has a long tradition of advocating for the education, equality, and wellbeing of women and girls worldwide.  Through annual fundraising CFUW contributes to a project that directly benefits women and young girls and provides the possibility to change lives and futures and this project fits our mandate perfectly.

CFUW has partnered with Stephen Lewis Foundation on our International Service Project (ISP) for 2025-2027.  Our goal is to raise $15,000 from Clubs and individuals by April 30 of each year.

Why is this project important to CFUW? 

CFUW has a long tradition of advocating for the education, equality, and wellbeing of women and girls worldwide.  This project fits our mandate perfectly.  Read more from Stephen Lewis Foundation on the Young Happy Healthy and Safe project and how to donate below. .

Background on Stephen Lewis Foundation:

For more than 20 years, the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) has been championing health and human rights to end AIDS.

The HIV epidemic remains a public health emergency in Africa fuelled by racism, gender inequality and colonialism. Recent and abrupt U.S. funding cuts and diminishing international aid for the HIV response are putting decades of hard-fought progress against AIDS at risk. If unmitigated, these funding cuts will be catastrophic for life-saving community-led programs that provide prevention, treatment, and care to those most affected by the HIV epidemic. The SLF is steadfast in the commitment to help raise awareness about the impact of these critical programs. Committed to community-led solutions, we provide funding and allyship to community-led organizations who are restoring hope, reclaiming human rights, fighting injustice and saving lives. Your support of the SLF helps our partners to protect decades of progress made against AIDS.

Young Happy Healthy and Safe (YHHS)

Young Happy Healthy and Safe (YHHS), with support from CFUW, is implementing a project that will reach 5,000 children and youth with critical information on their sexual and reproductive health and rights, including HIV prevention and testing.

The project will also support 120 students (60 girls and 60 boys) per year with school materials—books, pens, uniforms, and other essentials—and will distribute reusable sanitary pads to 500 girls. YHHS will also train peer educators and work with local leaders and government services to ensure girls are registered in school. When a girl is supported to complete secondary school, in countries where SF partners work, she is 50% less likely to newly acquire HIV. Community and stakeholder meetings will focus on addressing teenage pregnancy, early marriage,

(Pupils using Rachel Plus at School)

gender-based violence, and other significant barriers to girls’ education. YHHS will also hold monthly workshops raise awareness throughout the community about the impact girls’ education has on community health outcomes, to ensure girls are better supported to achieve their goals.

This project builds on YHHS’s long-standing commitment to improving the well-being of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Zambia. Since 2005, YHHS has worked across eight districts (Chipata, Chipangali, Kasenengwa, Katete, Nyimba, Vubwi, Petauke, and Chadiza) to integrate what was once a fragmented service delivery system. YHHS mobilizes community support, builds local capacities, and raises awareness of children’s rights and needs—including their sexual, reproductive, and psychosocial health—while working to prevent new HIV transmissions and support children impacted by the HIV epidemic.

YHHS builds capacity among women and girls, boys and men, and people living with disabilities to promote health-seeking behaviors and improve adolescent access to health services. Guided by a deep understanding of the systemic barriers girls face—poverty, inequality, harmful gender norms, and the impact of HIV—YHHS uses a holistic, rights-based approach to ensure girls can stay in school and thrive. Through this work, YHHS creates lasting change by empowering girls to access education and build brighter, healthier futures for themselves and their communities.

(School Girls and Teachers)

All information on Stephen Lewis Foundation and Young Happy Healthy and Safe is from:

https://stephenlewisfoundation.org/

How to Donate to the Stephen Lewis Foundation

Donate Online (Credit Card)

• Visit the Stephen Lewis Foundation website and click “Donate”
• You’ll receive a donation receipt by email as soon as the payment is processed

Donate by Cheque

• Make cheque payable to:
  Stephen Lewis Foundation
• Mail to:
  260 Spadina Ave., Suite 100, Toronto, ON, M5T 2E4
• Important:
  In the note section of the cheque, include your CFUW club’s name
  (This ensures donations are recorded as from CFUW)

Donate Aeroplan Miles

• The Stephen Lewis Foundation is a charitable partner of the Aeroplan Member Donation Program since 2006.
• Your generously donated Aeroplan points connect HIV leaders and experts across 14 African countries and around the globe. Your points also ensure their voices and priorities are present, heard and counted when policies and issues that affect them are being discussed on the global stage.

Your contributions, through donations of funds or Aeroplan points, have significant and meaningful impact! As an Aeroplan member, you can easily make a one-time donation online.